'Slain British jihadist had been deported'

Locals under tight security  view  the bodies of slain Alshaabab suspects and recovered amunations outside the  the Mpeketoni hospital's mortuary  grounds  in Lamu County ,15th June,2015. [PHOTO /MAARUFU MOHAMED/STANDARD]

Reports have emerged that British jihadist Thomas Evans, killed in an attack by the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) in Lamu County, was deported from Kenya in 2011.

Diplomatic sources alleged Evans was detained on arrival at Moi International Airport on an unspecified date in 2011, but Mombasa police said they were unaware of the reports.

This came amid police reports of unexploded Improvised Explosive Devices sown by fleeing militants in remote forests in the northern parts of Lamu County. State officials said they had to restrict civilian movement to Mangai and Bargoni where tension remains high.

Yesterday, Mombasa County Police Commander Robert Kitur told The Standard an investigation had been launched to establish claims of Evans’ alleged visit to Kenya four years ago. Mr Kitur said the investigation would also focus on whether the slain militant had any connection with detained British suspect Jermaine Grant, fugitive Samantha Lewthwaite and jailed terrorist Michael Adebolajo.

Grant is detained at Shimo la Tewa prison in Mombasa on terror charges while Adebolajo, who was deported from Kenya in 2011 after trying to enter the country, is serving a life term for beheading a British soldier.

Unconfirmed reports suggested Lewthwaite, Grant, Adebolajo and now Evans might have entered Kenya at the same time and, possibly, came under the influence of slain radical Islamists Sheikh Aboud Rogo and Sheikh Sharif Abubakar alias Makaburi.

fulfil wish

A report appearing in the Daily Mail Online quoted Evans’ mother, Sally, saying when she last spoke to him in December 2014, he told her not to mourn his death as he would be “in paradise”.

Mrs Evans, 57, said she went numb when she saw a picture of his body on Twitter after his brother found it online. His mother, who lives in the UK, said his family would not seek to return his body to his country for burial because he said last year that he never “wished to return there”.

She told The Times: “Tom never wanted to come back to the UK again. So do I fulfil his wishes? As his mother, I guess that’s the last thing I can do for him because he didn’t want to come back. I’d be bringing him back for my selfish purposes. I’m relieved he is no longer in a position where he can hurt people.”

She added: “I thank God he wasn’t a suicide bomber, he didn’t take lots of other people with him. I am thankful for that.”

Lamu County Administration Police Co-ordinator Chrispus Mutali said so far, no one has claimed the bodies. Families of slain suspects Luqman Osman Issa and Said Abdalla Hemed alias Said Hamza declined to speak to the press.

“We shall still have to confirm their identities through forensics before looking for relatives and informing them,” Mr Mutali said of Luqman and Hemed, whom the State believes were killed by KDF on Sunday.